Ethical use of big data in financial services – case studies

Increasing use of big data poses existential questions for financial services businesses. As well as using data to target, persuade, reward and penalise customers as many other businesses do, the use of big data can potentially benefit customers with more tailored and suitable products to meet their needs. Banks, insurers and investment managers face dilemmas and risks by using presents, but also their need to fulfil vital social functions for customers, which big data and artificial intelligence can help them do more effectively and efficiently.

But what do these challenges look like, and are they really anything new? What are some of the questions we should be asking? Is it the job of commercial organisations to solve them?

Below we provide a variety of case studies on insurance, banking and investment management to illustrate some of the ethical issues when using big data.

Financial services touch everyone’s lives, and the Financial Services Faculty’s work in this area is ongoing. If you would like to share stories, concerns or ideas as a contribution to our work, please contact fsf@icaew.com.